Process for mixing sludge



Feb. 21, 192s. j 1,660,243

R. BEATTIE Paocss FOR MixING sLUDGE Filed June 6. 1927 atto: um:

f ROBERT sludges or residues.

Patented Feb. 2,1, 1.92.8.

uNi-TEDsTATr-:s

PTENT OFFICE..

BEA'r'rIE, 0E Eoa'r WORTH,

TEXAS, AssIeNon 'ro 'ramsv :enorme contain) OIL GOMPANY,y OF FORT YORTH,` TEXAS, A CORPORATION OF TEXAS.

PROCESS Eon mrxINesLUDGE.

This linvention relates to an improved process and apparatus for mechanically mixing i any Idesired proportions, acid sludge or any other heavy residue remaining from the treatment of petroleum oils with fuel oil, gas oil orany other grade ofv hydrocarbons heavier than kerosene.

.In order that the invention maybe readily understood, it may be advantageous to give a short review of the` production of acid In the manufacture of .lubricating oils, for instance, the elimination of undesirable asphaltenes andthe im rovement in the color of the oil is accomp ished, by mechanically mixing phuric acid. The by-product'of this mixing is acid sludge and heavy asphaltenes.v This sludge is an accumulation o oxidized asphaltenes in a spongy cellular mass lwhich settles in the bottom of the tank in which the treating takes place. The treated oil is decanted or pumped oif, and the sludge drawn from the bottom ofthe tank.

This sludge has' the teri'stics:

In structure, it ranges fom hard porous coke to a heavy viscous liquid, varied through this range by certain methods of treatment in the sludge forming process, and the amount .of acid used. In weight, it has a specific gravity of from 1.3 to 2.4, depending again on the character ofthe oils treated, and the amount of acid used. As to followingl characthe acidity, it .may be stated that due to the spongy cellular structure of the sludge, the amount of acid carried off by the latter is very high. Products of oxidation are also present, but the acid con-tent and structure are the only characteristics thataect the operation of the mixing apparatus forming part of the present invention. vThe .heat content per pound of sludge runs from 10,000 to 16,000 B. t. -u.s. This also is a characteristic variable in each given instance. The combustibilityon Flebert scale is lower than ordinary fuel oils, thatis, the rate of propagation is from 10-t0 30% lower than those 'l encountered in ordinary combustion work.

`Aside from this latter physical property, the heavyY asphaltenes in the sludge make a very good fuel.

Heretofore, acid sludge has been burned after eoking, that is, after exposing the the oil with 'sul-l combustion,

sludge to air or heat and breakingup the coke-thus formed, and fixing the resulting pieces as solid fuel.

Furthermore, within Y the lastl few years, efforts have been madeto mixY the sludge acid with a lighter fuel oil, and to then burn the mixture. In otherv cases, the acid sludge has been cooked with water to cause the acid present toA be carried off, v`and the resultant acid free 'slud e has been mixed with fuel oil, in order t at it might be burned. The latter is a very expensive operation, however, and the problem of disposing `fof the acidwater has not been successfully met,l unless the lant is at seaboard, and in such ease, the acld water is dumped into the ocean, or if the plant is inland, the-weak lacid is turned over to a sulphuric acid recovery plant, and converted into commercial sulphuric acid.

`The' main objections to firing sludge as solid fuel, are, first, if hand fired, protection of fireman'k from acid burns is necessary; second, if stoker fired, the acid eats-out the metal parts; third, in either instance, poor due to the sludge melting and runnlng into grates, ash pits, etc. Acid sludge in any degree of oxidization cannot be stored in a sludge pit or any other place Without ruining that section of land for other purposes. Rain or surface water washes theacid out, and it in turn seeps into Any tank bottoms,

the surrounding soil. concrete foundations, or in fact anythingliable to be .used for4 construction purposes, will sooner or later, to a certain degree, be attacked by this acid.

Apparently, the only logical way to dispose of acid sludge is to burn it, and to obtain the greatest eiiiciency for this purpose it should be in liquid form. This form permits atomization, a prime requisite for eilicient combustion. The roblems intendant with this plan are negligible compared with other -rnethods of disposal.A

As before stated, 1n the last-few years efforts have been made to mix the acid sludge with fuel oil, for firing purposes, but such efforts have been unsuccessful, due

vto the fact that Within a short time after s out of solution the tank. There the mixing, the sludge -dro and settles to the bottom o `are several other objections, to the procedure.

`tion -is to improve the last` mentioned system and to mechanically mix the acid sludge with fuel oil, gasoil or the like,l in such manner that a homogeneous liquid remains, in which the acidv is neutralized.

In approaching the problems connected with the mixing of acid sludge with fuel oil or the like for burning purposes, a study was made of the factors which caused the sludge to settleout after mixing. The only logical reason that this settling out phe nomena could be attributed'to is the follow- The minute cells in the sludge are filled with f ree acid,v In the comparatively gentle mixing to which the ingredients have beensubjected heretofore, these cells were Vnotbroke'n up but retained their original structure. After. standing for some time in suspension, these cells released their acid charges. This releasing may have been due to the cell structure becoming porous and .thus liberating the acid. At' any rate, if

such theory is true, and from experience, I 'believe it is, this liberated acid acted on the fuel inl the mixture, and the resulting action formed new sludges, which in turn,

.jin the absence of mechanical agitation, settled to the bottom of the storage tank.

A further-object of my invention is to mechanically agitate the acid sludge so vio-k lently that its cells are broken up during the mixing, and the acid thus released is immediately neutralized by soda ash which has been previously mixedl with gas oil or fuel oil, which in turn is mixedwith the acid sludge.

' JA still further object of the invention is to furnish a process and apparatus which will not only mix the acid'sludge and fuel oil ory the like' iny such manner, that the acid sludge will remain in suspension or solution` l ess may be carried out.

tanksl 4 and manner hereinafter described.

but the work will be accomplished in a comparatively short time, and the resulting mixture may be freely atomized for burning purposes.

With the foregoing objects outlined-and Fig. 2 is an elevation partly in'longitudi'- nal-vertical section of the mechanical mixer forming part of the invention.

The apparatus consists mainly of an agitator 1, a sludgepump 2, ya mixer 3, mixing A5, and pumps 6 and 7, all suitably connected by valved pipingl in the tralize 'the amount of acid in the is opened, and the In using this apparatus, the batch of oil to be treated is pumped into the'agitator through a pipe 8, 'and'after it is brought to the desired temperature, a measured amount of sulphuric acid is introduced into the oil through a line 9. 'Air isthen blown into the. pipe 10 at the bottom of the agitator, and

the resulting agitationv mixes the oil and l issettling in the agitator, a, given amount of fuel oil, gas oil or other suitable hydrocarbon mixture, 1s fed through the, pipe 11 by the pump 6, and passes by way of .valved pipe 12 into that pump. The latter forces the liquid hydrocarbons through the valved pipe 13 into the tank 4and the amount of liquid hydrocarbons fed into this tank willdepend upon the amount of sludge obtainedV from the cutter acid.

If the total volume of cutter acid, sludge and. fuel oil can be held in tank 4.-, tank 5 is charged with enough fuel oil to mixwith the bodyf sludge. If not, then the cutter sludge is split, part going to tank 4;, and part to tank. 5. In vthe latter instance, part of the gas oil or fuel oi'l will be drawn by the pump 7 through the valved pipe i14, and will' be. forced by the pump through the valved pipe '15 into the tank 5. Into these two tanks is dumped enough soda ash to completely neusludge with which the fuel oil is to be mixed. While the sludgeis settling in the agitator, and after the soda ash has been mixed with the fuel oil, this mixture of fuel oil` and soda ash is moved around in cycles to thoroughly mix'the same. 4To permit this, each tank and 1ts associated pump is provided with valved pipes 16 and 17.

-Assuming thatthe sludge has settledl in the agitator by this time, the rotary mixer 3 is set in operation, and we will also assume that the mixture of fuel oil and soda ash in thel tank 4 is sufficient to take care of this sludge which has resulted from the treatment of the oil with t-he cutter acid. Under such circumst ances,`the valve in the pipe 10 pump 2 functions to force the acid sludge from the pipe 10 through pipe 18 and intoA the mixer 3. At this time, the valves in the pipes 12 and 16 are closed, so that the pump 6 may force the mixture of fuel oil and soda ash through pipes 17, 19 and-.20,- .from the tank 4 into the mixer 3,

`where it meets and is intermingled with the sludge from pipe- 18'. The

mixture of soda ash,

- from the mixer through pipe 21, and passes project into through pipe 22 into the .tank' The mixer is sho-wn in detail in Fig. 2, an'd it'conipri'ses a cylinder 23 having suitable inlet and outlet ports which communicate with the pipes 18, and 21. Plates 24. close the ends of the cylinder and carry suitablev bearings 25 for the shaft 26. The interior of the `cylinder is provided with two rowsof radially disposed stationar `plates 27 which are diametrically opposite y disposed, and close proximity with the shaft these plates and fixed 26. Arranged between on the shaft 26, are rotatable plates 28. Theany suitable meansl shaft 26 is driven 'by such as an electric motor 29, andthe material passing through the mixer is violently agitated, so that the resulting mixtureis a homogeneous liquid, in which the acid is neutralized.

` the` fuel oil, steam in ay l I Pump 6.

while the soda ash is being mixed with be introduced into t-he ytanks through pipes 30, and this will assist in maintaining-the turbulence necesf most energetic agitation.l It is thus evident,

sary to effectively mix these materials. desired, rotatable propellers 31 may aiso be used to assist this action, but theV use of the p ropellers is not necessary.

It may be observed that the acid sludge is forced-by the pump 2, while the mixture of soda ash and fuel oil is circulated by the and this permits the sludge to be put'into the mixer with suicient pressure to overcome the pressure caused by circulating the fuel oil andl soda ash. The rate ofv circulation ofthe soda ash fuel oil is so highy incomparison to the inlet rate of sludge (ratio 100 to l), and the the acid bearing sludge cells are ruptured, their acid. released, and immediately neutralized vby the/presence' of the soda ash carried by the fuel oil.-

At the beginning-of the actual mixing, a quantity of acid oil is drawn from the bottom of the agitator before the sludge comes. This oil is rich in acid which is neutralized immediately when'introduced into the mixer, as the fuel oil at thisy step ofthe operation is laden with strong soda ash. As the operation progresses, the fuel oil becomes more and more sludge laden, and after all the sludge is pumped into the mixer, the sludge pump is shut down. A suitablemixture of sludge acid and fuel oil is circulated through.

t-he mixerby t pump- 6, until smoothness Y, is obtained, (freedom from sludge andjcoke 4 may be pumped to storage, and then.be

recharged with fuel oil or the like for the next operation. In effect, it will therefore i fuel oil, but subsequently,

agitation is so violent, that .ment of the invention, it

sludge formedl bythe second4 be seen that my process and apparatus renpositively' prevents the formation. of any scco1idaiy-siuc`lges in the resulting mixture.l `.The same type of mixer may be used to work up the sludge already in storagev in .sludge pits at reineries.

1Whenever the mixer is employed for the treatment of sludge, -there is bound to be drawn to the outer `wa1l of 'the cylinder 23, during ldie mixing proccss, such parts of the mixture as contains the greater percentage of sludge; this throwing out or stratification being due to'centrifugal force. This is the part of the mixture thenat any given moment that requires the most agitation t0- niake the Vfinished product homogeneous.

As it is a mathematical law that the -pei'ipheral speed is direct, dependent on the R. P. M., and center of rotation, automatically, the areas farthest' away from the vshaft receive the in the course of the ingredientsjthrough the mixer, this condition balances itself, and the regardless of the rate of charging.

vIn the beginning, I tried this mixer with- I have successfully used the same foi` mix-ing glas oil andsludge, which was impossible by t e' known method, due to the fact that the' acid sludge when intreduced. into gas oil, even in small particles, immediately sank to ing tank. Because ofthe mixing and disrupting action in my new system, the sludge, by the time it passed into the tank via the the distance ofk point` to the the bottom of the mixmixer, wasin suspension in the gas oil, and

readily mixed with gas oil in the tank.

VhileI have disclosed a working embodiwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the details disclosed without depai'tiiig from the spirit'of the invention as expressed in the claims. f

That I claim and desire ters'latent is: v

l. A process for treating acid sludge and like residues, consisting 'in mixing the saine with liquid hydrocarbons, flowing the mixture 1through a passageway and agitating the flowing mixture in said passageway with to secure by Letsuiiicient Vviolence to produce a homogeneous liquid mixture.

2. A prgcess for treating acid sludge or the like, cbnsisting in mixing such sludge with liquid hydrocarbons heavier than kerosene, flowing the mixturev through a passageway and agitating the flowing mixturet in said passageway'with sufficient violencev to produce a homogeneous liquid mixture. 3. A process of treating acidl sludge or lll) Vrating the mixture in said passageway withthe like, consisting in mixing the same with liquid hydrocarbons .and a neutralizing agent, flowing the mixture through a. passageway and agitatin such mixture in said passageway with su cient violence to produce a homogeneous liquid mixture in which the acid is neutralize u 4. A process of treating acid sludge or the like, consisting in mixing the same with liquid hydrocarbons heavier than kerosene, and a neutralizing agent, flowing vsaid mixture through a passageway and agitating such mixture in said passageway withsuicient violence to produce a homogeneous liquid mixture in which 'the acid is neutralized. l y

5. Avprocess for treating acid'sludge or .the like, consist-ing. in 'mixino' the same with liquid hydrocarbons and Solda ash, flowing the mixture through a passageway and agisuflicientviolence to produce a homogeneous liquid mixture in, which the acid is neutralized. y

6. A process for treating acidv sludge and the like, consisting in mixing the same with liquid hydrocarbons and a neutralizing agent, iowino' said mixture 'througha passageway, an mechanically agitating the mixture in said passageway to produce a homogeneous liquid mixture in whiclrthe acid is neutralized.

7. A process oftreating acid sludge or the i like, ,consisting in mixing the sa-me with liquid hydrocarbons and a 4neutralizing agent, organizing said mixture into a stream and beating said mixture in said stream with suficientviolence to produce a homogeneous liquid mixture in which theacid is neutralized.

8. In a' process of the character described, mixing liquid hydrocarbons' and soda ash. subsequently mixingl this mixture with acid sludge, flowing the resul. .ng mixture through a passageway and mechanically agitating the resulting mixture in said passageway with sufficient violence to produce a homogeneous liquid mixture in which the acid is neutralized.

9.-A process of the character described,

f consisting in mixing a predetermined quan- ,tity of liquid hydrocarbons with a neutralizing agent, subsequently mixing such mixture with a smaller quantity of acid sludge, or-v ganizing the resulting mixture into a flowing stream and mechanically ag1tat1ng the resulting mixture in a stream with suiflclent violence to produce la homogeneous liquid.

mixture in which the various ingredients remain in solution. s, l

10, A -process for treating acid sludge or .the like, Iconsisting in mixing the same with liquid hydrocarbons and a neutralizing agent, organizing the mixture into a flowing Stream, .and agitating the mixture in sai agent, and beating the mixture with suflicient violence and at such high speed as to break up all the acid bearing sludge cells and to release the acid therefrom, theneutralizing agent being in sufficient amount to completely neutralize the released acid.

12. A' process for treating acid sludge or the like, consisting in mixing 'relatively small quantities of the same with relatively large quantities of liquid hydrocarbons and soda, ash, mechanically agitating said mixture with such violence that all the acid bearingsludge cells are broken up 'and the'acid is released therefrom, and completely neutralizing the acid thus ,released by said neutralizing agent.

13. In a process of the character described, mixing hydrocarbon oil with acid, allowing the resulting sludge to settle, then introducing the sludge into a owing stream troducing a sufficient quantity of a neutralizingagent into said mixtureto causethe released. acid to be completely neutralized by said neutralizing` agent.

14. A process for treating acid sludge and the like, consistin in contacting a moving streamof acid slug e with a moving stream of liquid hydrocarons and a neutralizing agent, mixing these streams and organizing themi'nto a common stream, and agitatingthe resulting'mixture in said common stream with suiicient violence to produce a homogeneous liquid mixture in which the various ingredients remain in solution.

15. A process for'treating acid sludge and the like, consisting in flowing a stream of acid sludge and a stream of liquid hydrocar` bons and a neutralizing agent, through a passageway, and agitating the mixture in said passagewaywith such violence as to.`

produce a homogeneous liquid mixture in which the various ingredients remain in solution.

v16. A-process oftreating acid sludge and the like, consisting in introducing relatively small quantities of acid sludge into a 'much larger quantity of liquid hydrocarbons and a neutralizing agent, and agitating the resulting mixture with sufficient violenceand at such high speed as to produce a homogeneous liquid' mixture in which the various ingredients remainin solution.

17. A process of treating acid sludge and the like, consisting in contacting a moving mon stream, and agitating the resultin mixstream of acid slu e with a moving stream ture in said common stream so violen y and l0 f of liquid hydrocar ons and a neutralizing with such speed that the acidv bearing sludge agent, maintaining the rate of flow of the cells are'ruptured, their acid released, and stream of liquid hydrocarbons and neutralizsaid acid immediately neutralized by the ing agent extremely high in comparison presence of the neutralizing agent.

with the rate of flow of the stream of acid sludge, organizing said streams into a com- A ROBERT BEATTIE. 

